Clean Molds, No Wrinkles. The Problem, The solution, Casting clean non wrinkly molds! Casting Molds minutemencoffee.com/ Use discount code "elvisammo" for great coffee BUY ELVIS A COFFEE paypal.me/ElvisAmmo?locale.x=...
Been reloading for years but recently started casting. This was the exact answer to the problem I've been having. Thanks to you for the help, I was finally able to have my first batch of solid keepers!
Hi there, with casting bullets & cleaning your mold. If your not sure use rubbing alcohol, that will clean all oil residue from the mold. Will not have no more wrinkled bullets. That's what I always clean mine with, easier is not alway the best way. I do like watching your videos, always so informative THANK YOU for always helping us.
Hey Elvis! How could anyone not subscribe to your channel? I've learned a lot especially the powder coating videos. Thank you for taking the time to explain everything and keep up the great videos!
Dude your great and psychic too. I just started casting and just so happen to get the bright idea to clean my brand new mold and guess what I used. And I got a lot of wrinkles and was wondering what I did or was doing. Great job. Glad to learn from your wisdom.
ever since I worked in a paint & body shop in the 80's I've used lacquer thinner to clean almost everything, test on some materials first, cleans well and leaves no residue, even great for cuts on your hands
Just by way of an FYI, toluene (one of the ingredients in the 'good' brake cleaner), is a highly effective solvent but it is easily absorbed through the skin. Haven't been able to purchase straight toluene individually (commercial only) for decades because of this. So, wear gloves when using it or anything else with that as a component. Also Dawn brand soap is best. Absorbs oils well and rinses easily. Its what they use to get oil off of waterfowl that have been into an oil spill. Good video. Good information. Thanks.
I know nobody thinks much about washing their hands in gas or mineral spirits but I was a bridge painter for 37 years and in the industry we call that an acute exposure. That toluene is a major cancer causer and that acetone isn't much better. Best to wear gloves when using solvents.
That explains why i had better result with soap and water and the mold took the smoke much easier. I was using that same brake cleaner and was having awful results. Thanks for all of your help over the years. I just subscribed today after watching for 3 years.
I've been cleaning my new molds with brake cleaner, after watching this video, I ran down to my dungeon to check what kind I have, it turns out I had the right kind all along! Excellent video Elvis! Keep up the great work.
Really good advice. many people make that mistake as you said, sure beats what I was doing, a Monkey skull filled with beads on the end of a stick, shaking it at the mold trying to cast out the evil spirits..-Dave
Soap(dawn blue) and water(hot) 1st, then acetone let stand to dry then a good smoking and off to the races done it with all my molds casts great bullets everytime! Mold lube, I've found the stihl brand 2cyxle oil to be the best, small drop on each pin, wipe down the contact side of the sprue plate with an oily (stihl oily) rags and that's kept me casting flawless bullets every time
That is some good information. When I first started I used the wrong brake cleaner and I was getting wrinkled bullets and your right it was driving my crazy.
As a somewhat woodworker I use a acetone dampened rag to do the final wipe down before a finish is applied. It dries fast and leaves no residue. I always have it around. Now I'm going to try it on my molds. Thanks!
Yes sir. I always look for acetone in it. I have used starting fluid a couple times as well. Always great info that will help a lot of people for sure. Good stuff my friend
I start with very hot water and soap then go back with alcohol then rinse throughly with distilled water it seems to work really good for me. Like your videos Elvis they are very helpful.
Good tips for new casters, Elvis 👍🇺🇸 As my video from a few weeks ago shows, if you properly prepare a new mold, you can have the first bullets perfect. Keep up the great work
Another option I like is to use MAF sensor cleaner. It isn't as strong a solvent, but gets the job done & leaves behind no residue. It won't dissolve dirt and such, but will remove any grease, oil and other solvents in a hurry. Brake cleaner will certainly strip everything, so make sure it is all well conditioned before use. I like to use an anti sieze on a hot mold instead of oil for that.
I cleaned my new lee molds 2 times and smoked them. Now the bullets look better but not as good as my old lyman molds. I'll clean them again with acetone instead of alcohol. Thanks for the info.
always buy flammable brake cleaner when it dries there will be no residue left at all if you spray your hand and let it dry and youre hand is not chalky white it will not work for anything but cleaning brake parts
Hi Elvis 😊 A coincidence about cleansing molds. I washed a new Lee mold today that i recived in the mail from my local dealer. I cleaned it very thorough and i looked forward to cast with it this evening. When i was finished i saw something that did'nt look right.. The cavities was looking a bit small to be a .356" mold and it measured .330 despite it's marked 356-124😮 And that was the last 2 cavity Lee tumble lube design 356-124 mold they had and i could fine here inn my part of the woods,so i ordered a new 6-cav mold (same bullet) from the same dealer..the last one! Here inn Norway it's a drought on Lee casting and loading suplies thanks to the the situation in the world these days. I hope that mold is in spec.. The lightning can't hit twice at the same spot i guess😆 Thank you for another educational video👍 I find them very informative and have learned a lot from watching over the years😊
Acetone while a great cleaner / solvent can very easily transport other things though your skin. ALWAYS wear gloves with Acetone! I generally use soap and water then denatured alcohol.
i normally burn my mold cavities out with the flame of a stick candle. i take my time over the tip of the flame and when the cavity is fully blackened with carbon not only are all the chemicals burned out but it's now coated with mold release.
After I clean my mold, to get well formed bullets with no wrinkles, I heat the mold with a propane torch and will reheat after each twenty pours. I don't know if that is ok with aluminum molds, but with my Lyman molds, it works very well. It seems that getting the mold to the proper temperature is needed to get non-wrinkled bullets.
I clean mine with acetone allow to dry then carbon soot the actual round portion of the molds with a bic lighter held about 2 inches below the mold half on both sides its done when both sides a covered in carbon
Good video here, I knew this and keep both kinds. They both have their uses. Just not in casting. I use Dawn dish soap unscented. Seems to work great. But acetone works also. Just make sure you relube your sprue cutter.
I guess that's why my Dad taught me to use Acetone to clean a mold after it's been oily from storage. i use CRC/Brakleen in the GREEN can. And I do clean with DAWN & Hot Water before I spray with brake cleaner. It will remove the last bit of any oil & water from the DAWN clean.
Hey Elvis I avoid brake cleaner because I have had issues before. I just use acetone it’s cheaper and last a long time. Plus I use it for other things.
Skip brakleen all together get starting fluid instead no residue however there are some that do have a top engine lubricant added into them but they’re not as common as the can without. Straight either the way to go
Sta-vil carb/choke cleaner is what I used on non painted metals. All others CLP brake cleaner. Edit: grabbed can and if says "Acetone, Toluene, & Propane."
Had to pause the vid and run out to the garage to check my brake cleaner. I've had pretty good luck with it. It's Auto Zone brand, mostly toluene, flammable, non-chlorinated. Dries very quickly though not as fast as acetone. May switch it out for an acetone-based cleaner after seeing this.
good tip on the diff brake cleaners, I was wondering about the Lee recommendation to soot up the molds. Yours don't appear all black so do you use smoke soot or what do you use if anything as a parting agent in the molds?
Great video, but something you missed that MUST be emphasized - Chlorinated brake cleaner containing tetrachloroethylene will, on exposure to high temperatures (above 500 °F (260 °C)) or strong UV light, decompose into phosgene and hydrogen chloride. These are poisonous gases that can absolutely kill you. I don’t even keep chlorinated brake cleaner around anymore. Welders sometimes make this mistake, in an effort to clean auto parts quickly will hit them with brake cleaner, sometimes chlorinated, then start welding before the parts are completely dry. Very dangerous to your lungs.
Aside from helping to make better bullets the use of the spray on new brakes and their pads makes me think that it's not good for a car either. When using the "CRC" spray which is always found in my local autostore. Thanks from a diy auto repair guy and a shooter.
Tetrachloroethylene when exposed to temperatures over 350 degrees I believe can cause serious health issues. Never weld or heat parts that have been sprayed with this.
Avoid the beauty product acetone, some brands contains oil-like substances to spare the skin. Hardware store, or auto part store acetone is pure. You can also buy Methyl-Ethyl-Ketone (MEK), Toluene, and Methanol (methyl alcohol / wood alcohol) at hardware stores, or car paint stores. The tri-chloro-ethylene brake cleaner probably contains traces of oil to prevent the brake discs start rusting within seconds after cleaning.
Great tip there thank you. The beauty products acetone that I actually have is pure. But I really use it as a bottle that I fill from the gallon jug. Great point!!!
Extreme care around brake cleaner and heat. Tectrachlorethelene turns into phosgene gas whenever heated to around 600 degrees Fahrenheit. In world war 1 they called this mustard gas. You do not want to breath this.
I was told that you need to clean them and let them set in cleaner for 24hrs. Trying to get a timeline in how long and for Length of time the molds need to be cleaned. Can you help me with thia please trying to get accurate information here lol
The difference comes down to "CHLORINATED" AND "NON-CHLORINATED" brake parts cleaner. For cleaning molds, the "NON-CHLORINATED" is better. For cleaning brake parts, grime, etc., the "CHLORINATED" stuff is stronger. In some states, i.e., states like CA that want to control EVERYTHING, all we're ALLOWED to use is "NON-CHLORINATED". They don't even sell the "CHLORINATED". Again, "NON-CHLORINATED" is best for cleaning MOLDS, "NON-CHLORINATED" is best for cleaning grimy CAR PARTS.
